Concrete mixer



Nov. 7, 1950 E. KEEL 5 3 CONCRETE MIXER Filed Jan. 27, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 J/v VE/V TO A Just/v5 KE EL ATTORNEY.

Nov. 7, 1950 E. KEEL 2,529,256

CONCRETE MIXER Filed Jan. 27, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Nov. 7, 1950 OFFICE CONCRETE MIXER Eugene Keel, Brussels, Belgium Application January 27, 1948, Serial No. 4,589 In Switzerland April 6, 1945 Section 1, Public Law 690, August 8, 1946 Patent expires April 6, 1965 7 Claims.

Concrete mixers provided with an elevator are known. They take up a great deal of space, are heavy and require high power to drive them.

The present invention has for its object to provide a concrete mixer which is characterized by the fact that for filling, the drum is adapted to move downwards, and for emptying it is adapted to move upwards, and rotates about an axis which is located outside the drum. The gear which drives the toothed crown is located on the axis of rotation and said mixer is furthermore characterized in that the mixing drum rotates in a supporting bearing which is provided around each of the emptying and filling openings.

An embodiment of the concrete mixer according to the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 shows a front view of the mixer, certain parts having been eliminated for the sake of clarity.

Fig. 2 shows a section of the mixer taken through the plane AB of Fig. 1 (drum and lever arm, certain parts being eliminated).

Fig. 3 is a partial side view of the mixer without its screening.

Fig. 4 shows a front view of the emptying channel and Fig. 5 shows a sectional view of same.

Fig. 6 is a sectional front view of the mixer (the water tank is shown in section), the machine being in the travelling position.

Fig. '7 shows a plan view of the hopper with rails and the pit in the ground.

Figs. 8 and 9 are respectively front and side views of a detail.

Fig. 10 is a sectional view, on a smaller scale, of a modification of the mixer.

Construction of the machine according to Figs. 1 to 5: l is a closed tank mounted on the frame I. 2 is a shaft, about the ends of which the lever arms 3, which are provided with the supporting bearings l9 and the arm extensions 3' are adapted to pivot. In said supporting bearings the mixing drum 6 is adapted to oscillate. The lever arm extensions 3 are connected to one another by a cross-bar 30. Said cross-bar serves to lock the drum in its travelling position, by means of the bolts 3| which are pivotally mounted on the crossbar 3". At the lower part of the tank I the two sides of the pulling elements ll (cables, ribbons, belts, etc.) are fixed at the point l5. The pulling elements surround the supporting bearings 19 which, for this purpose, are provided with grooves l9, and said elements ll pass over the rotary rollers [6 of th tank I and are fastened to 2 a winchbarrel it which is actuated through a speed reducer provided with a coupling, by a motor I2. 8 is a, gear which adapted to rotate on the shaft 2 and is also driven by the motor l2, said gear meshing with the toothed crown l of the drum 6.

22 (Figs. 4 and 5) represents a channel fixed to the frame I (with a movable cross-bar 54) to which is suspended the pivoting emptying channel 23. 52 are the suspension arms for said channel 23; they are fixed to a transverse shaft 53. Said shaft 53 is rigidly assembled by means of the cross-bar 54 which is adapted to move on the frame l. By means of this device, the emptying height can be adjusted so as to obtain a suitable drop for the concrete. 25 are two wheels corresponding to the small gauge of the rails. The fact that the wheels 25 are adapted to pivot about the tenon 4 l enables the machine to be steered on a road by means of the steering bar 4!.

On the broad gauge track is fixed the locking means for the wheels (Figs. 8 and 9), which is provided with a locking shoe d6 which is adapted to pivot about the tenon M and which, by means of the counterweight 48 located at the side of the rails 28, lifts its abutments 49 and 50 abov the rails, so that the wheels 27 of the rolling mixer lower the abutment 49 of the shoe 4% and are finally locked between the abutments 49 and 50. 5| is a rail fish-plate.

The machine operates as follows: as shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 7, the machine is resting with its wheels 21 on short lengths of rails 28, above the pit 3!] in the ground. In Figs. 1 and 2, the pulling element It is wound on the barrel it of the winch and the mixing drum 5 is in its highest position. When mixing is completed, the concrete can be removed in this position through the emptying channel 23. The pulling elements H are then unwound from the winch-barrel It and the mixing drum 6 is thereby caused to descend into the pit 30 in the ground (see Fig. 3). Before this descent, the stationary hopper 26 has been filled with the product to be mixed. By way of example, the neck of the hopper 28 may be provided with a flap, the opening of which causes the mixing drum 6 to be fitted. Said mixing drum can constantly rotate during all these operations.

Fig. 6 shows the mixing drum 6 in its stopped position. By manipulating the lever 3", the bolt 3| can be attached to the cross-bar 31!. After it has thus been fixed (see Fig. 2) the mixing drum 6 cannot pivot relatively to the frame, and the crowns 32 of the mixing drum 6 extend beyond the frame the same distance as the wheels 25. Owing to this fact, the mixing drum acts as a wheel for the travel of the mixer, either along the ground, or along rails. It may happen that the bolt 3i becomes detached by mistake when the mixer is not over a pit or on rails, so that the mixing drum falls on to the ground. By fixing the pulling elements I! to the lower part of the frame I at the point 45" and passing them around the openings of the mixing drum by means of the rollers 45, the mixing drum 6 can be restored to its normal position. The gauge of the wheels 25 is the same as the distance between the crowns 32 of the mixing drum. Owing to this, the mixer can also move along rails while the product to be mixed is being prepared in the drum, independently of whether the machine is stationary or travelling. It is possible, for example, to provide along the tracks, at inter-spaced working places, multiple pits with hoppers for the material to be mixed. The mixing drum can be filled at one of these stations and emptied at the next station.

As a modificatiom'the mixer described can be constructed according to Fig. 10. During the downward and upward movements of the mixing drum, the hopper effects a corresponding upward or downward movement. The purpose of this arrangement is to reduce or eliminate the pit and at the same time effect a saving of power. In this modification, the mixing drum 6 is connected by means of the pulling elements I? passing over the rollers 35 and 35 to the hopper 29. When the drum 6 moves downwards, the hopper 26 moves upwards until the openings of ti e hopper and of the drum are at the same level and the hopper can pour its contents into the drum. :36 are rails which are fixed to the frame 1' and are intended to guide the hopper on its rollers 29.

I claim: 1. A concrete mixer comprising a wheeled frame, a horizontal transversal spindle carried directly thereby, a pivoting member adapted to pivot round said spindle, a rotary mixing drum the axis of which is rotatably carried by said pivoting member along a line parallel with the spindle and at a distance therefrom to move along an arc with the spindle as a center, a prime mover carried by said frame, mechanical means for operatively connecting the prime move with said drum and including a driving wheel coaxial with the spindle and driven by the prime mover and transmission means between said wheel and said drum and further means controlled by the prime mover for bringing the pivoting member into any desired angular position.

2. A concrete mixer comprising a wheeled frame, a horizontal transversal spindle carried directly thereby, a pivoting member adapted to pivot round said spindle, a rotary mixing drum provided with openings in its faces perpendicular to its axis of rotation, bearings rotatably carrying the rotary drum coaxially with its axis of rotation, said bearings being rigid with thepivoting member to move therewith along'an arc with the spindle as a centre, a power unit carried by said frame, mechanical means for operatively connecting said power unit with said drum and including a driving wheel coaxial with the spindle and driven by the prime mover and transmission means between said wheel and said drum and further means controlled by the power unit for bringing the pivoting member into any desired angular position.

3. A concrete mixer comprising a Wheeled frame, a horizontal transversal spindle carried directly thereby, a pivoting member adapted, to

pivot round said spindle, a rotary mixing drum rotatably carried by said pivoting member to move along an arc with the spindle as a center, a power unit carried by said frame, a gearwork operatively connecting the drum with the power unit and including a gearwheel coaxial with the spindle and a yielding strip one end Of which is attached to the frame and that operatively engages the rotary drum along an arcuate line and means whereby the powerunit drives said strip in either direction for modifying correspondingly the angular position of the pivoting member.

4. A concrete mixer comprising a wheeled frame, a horizontal transversal spindle carried directly thereby, a pivoting member adapted to pivot round said spindle, a rotary mixing drum provided with openings in its faces perpendicular to its axis of rotation, bearings rotatably carrying the rotary drum coaxially with its axis of rotation, said bearings being rigid with the pivoting member and having their axis parallei with the spindle and at a distance therefrom, a power unit carried by said frame, a'gearwork operatively connecting the drum with the power unit and including a gearwheel coaxial with the spindle and a yielding strip one end of which is attached to the frame and that operatively engages the rotary drum along an arcuate line and means whereby the power unit drives said strip in either direction for modifying correspondingly the angular position of the pivoting member.

5. A concrete mixer comprising a wheeled frame, a horizontal transversal spindle carried directly thereby, a pivoting member adapted to pivot round said spindle and including two lever arms pivotally secured to the spindle and a crossbar parallel to saidspindle, means for locking the cross bar to the frame in a position corresponding to a substantially horizontal location of the pivoting member, a rotary mixing drum provided with openings in its faces perpendicular to its axis of rotation, bearings rotatabl carrying the rotary drum coaxially with its axis of rotation, said bearings being rigid with the pivoting member and having their axis parallel with the spindle and at a distance therefrom, a prime mover carried by said frame, a gearwork operatively connecting the drum with the prime mover and including a gearwheel coaxial with the spindle, a yielding strip one end of which is attached to the frame and that operatively engages the rotary drum along an arcuate line and means whereby the prime mover drives said strip in either direction for modifying correspondingly the angular position of the drum.

6. A concrete mixer comprising a wheeled frame, a horizontal transversal spindle carried directly thereby, a pivoting member adapted to pivot round said spindle, a rotary mixing drum provided with openings in its faces perpendicular to its axis of rotation, bearings rotatably carrying the rotary drum coaxially with its axis of rotation, said bearings being rigidly secured to the pivoting member and having their axis lying parallel with the spindle and at a distance therefrom, a prime mover carried by said frame, mechanical means for operatively connecting said prime mover with said drum and including a driving wheel coaxial with the spindle and driven by the prime mover and transmission means between said wheel and said drum andfurther means controlled by the prime mover for bringing the pivoting member in any desired angular position, a, hopper associated with one end opening of the drum and. means constraining said hopper to move vertically in opposed relationship with the vertical component of the movement of the pivoting member and to register through its lower opening with the said associated opening in the drum when said drum is in a predetermined position.

'7. A concrete mixer comprising a wheeled frame including two sets of wheels of different gauges, a horizontal transversal spindle carried directly thereby, a pivoting member adapted to pivot round said spindle, a rotary mixing drum provided with openings in its faces perpendicular to its axis of rotation, a second spindle coaxially carrying the drum and rotatably carried by the pivoting member along a line thereof parallel with the first spindle and at a distance therefrom, wheels carried coaxially by the drum for cooperating with the narrow gauge wheels on the frame when the pivoting member is in its horizontal position, a, prime "mover carried by said frame, means whereby the prime mover controls the progress of the wheeled frame, and th tilting of the pivoting member and a gear wheel coaxial with the first spindle and operatively connected with the prime mover and with the rotary drum.

EUGENE KEEL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

